Dandie Dinmont Terrier

What’s my history? Ready for a quick literary quiz question – name the author and book from which our name was inspired?….the answer is of course Sir Walter Scott’s Guy Mannering. Dandie Dinmont was a fictional character. When he wrote Guy Mannering, the character “Dandie Dinmont” owned a number of terriers named “Pepper” and “Mustard” after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, Mr. James Davidson – the Godfather of all Dandie Dinmont terriers. We were in existence long before Walter Scott. In fact we were developed for hunting otters and badgers around Northern England and Scotland.

What do I look like? The first thing you will be attracted to is our oversized but very cute head. Our skull is almost square and our muzzle is long. We have a double coat with a hard crisp top-coat and a softer undercoat. We have some feathering and a particular feature of the Dandie is a soft and silky wodge of fur on the top of our head.

What do I need from you? The future of Dandie Dinmont terriers is very much in the hands of our prospective owners and breeders. In the UK we are on the ‘vulnerable native breed’ list by the Kennel Club due to the low number of puppy registrations on a yearly basis. Due to our elongated body, we can suffer from back problems. Specifically our intervertebral discs can sometimes “slip” resulting in spinal disc herniation. Any symptoms relating to this can depend entirely on what part of our back is affected, and can range to paralysis with loss of bladder and bowel control in the worst cases. Careful treatment and check-ups with the vet can help us with this.

What I will give in return”]Despite our tough approach to life, we are a friendly and amiable dog. We are fine around children that are slightly older than toddlers who won’t mistreat us. Don’t trust us with small animals like mice or rabbits – we’ll see them as fair game even in the house. This could include cats. The Dandie Dinmont terrier is one of the more docile terriers but don’t be totally fooled by this. We’ll still take on other dogs if challenged, even if it’s a fight we know we realistically can’t win.

How big will I get? Gigantic! Actually around 8in-11in (20cm-28cm) and weighing about 20lb (9kg).

How long should I be around for? Our life expectancy is good – expect to be seduced by us for between 11 and 13 years (or 77 to 91 dog years!) The only worry is our slightly higher than average incidence of canine cancer, but this is only likely to affect us in later life.

Want us to live with you? We’re currently recruiting breeders and adopters to go here. Could that be you?

Our own special community: Fine and Dandie

What's my history?

Ready for a quick literary quiz question – name the author and book from which our name was inspired?….the answer is of course Sir Walter Scott’s Guy Mannering. Dandie Dinmont was a fictional character. When he wrote Guy Mannering, the character “Dandie Dinmont” owned a number of terriers named “Pepper” and “Mustard” after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, Mr. James Davidson – the Godfather of all Dandie Dinmont terriers. We were in existence long before Walter Scott. In fact we were developed for hunting otters and badgers around Northern England and Scotland.

What do I look like?

The first thing you will be attracted to is our oversized but very cute head. Our skull is almost square and our muzzle is long. We have a double coat with a hard crisp top-coat and a softer undercoat. We have some feathering and a particular feature of the Dandie is a soft and silky wodge of fur on the top of our head.

What do I need from you?

The future of Dandie Dinmont terriers is very much in the hands of our prospective owners and breeders. In the UK we are on the ‘vulnerable native breed’ list by the Kennel Club due to the low number of puppy registrations on a yearly basis. Due to our elongated body, we can suffer from back problems. Specifically our intervertebral discs can sometimes “slip” resulting in spinal disc herniation. Any symptoms relating to this can depend entirely on what part of our back is affected, and can range to paralysis with loss of bladder and bowel control in the worst cases. Careful treatment and check-ups with the vet can help us with this.

What I will give in return

Despite our tough approach to life, we are a friendly and amiable dog. We are fine around children that are slightly older than toddlers who won’t mistreat us. Don’t trust us with small animals like mice or rabbits – we’ll see them as fair game even in the house. This could include cats. The Dandie Dinmont terrier is one of the more docile terriers but don’t be totally fooled by this. We’ll still take on other dogs if challenged, even if it’s a fight we know we realistically can’t win.

How big will I get?

Gigantic! Actually around 8in-11in (20cm-28cm) and weighing about 20lb (9kg).

How long should I be around for?

Our life expectancy is good – expect to be seduced by us for between 11 and 13 years (or 77 to 91 dog years!) The only worry is our slightly higher than average incidence of canine cancer, but this is only likely to affect us in later life.

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Want us to live with you?

We’re currently recruiting breeders and adopters to go here. Could that be you?

Our own special community

Fine and Dandie

Disclaimer: the views expressed on this page and any comments below are only a guide to typical traits and views on the breed. Individual circumstance and traits will always vary so we can be in no way responsible for any of the information provided.